The present invention was made as a part of an effort to provide an improved mounting structure for a suspended object (e.g. a lighting fixture). It is believed that the joint construction of the invention has general utility. However, it is known to have particular application for connecting the upper end of a support leg for a light fixture to an overhead structure in a ship. The present invention also provides a wireway suspension system having inproved static and synamic load bearing capability and being readily adaptable for versatile applications.
Ship construction is done in stages. Quite often, a component is installed and then it is discovered that the component must be removed in order to either install another component, or perform some other stage of the construction of the ship. Light fixtures must be securely afixed to the ceiling structure and this has in the past been done by welding the upper ends of support leg members to a metal ceiling structure and then welding cross members to the lower ends of the support leg members, and then bolting the light fixtures to the cross members. When a mounting structure was installed in this way it became necessary to remove it in a destructive manner, such as by use of a cutting torch. The mounting structure of the present invention provides a way of easily connecting and disconnecting the support leg member to the ceiling structure, so that if it becomes necessary to remove the support leg structure, it can be done without distructive effects to this component, so that such component can be reused. The mounting structure of the present invention makes it easy to raise or lower a lighting fixture or similar object. The mounting structure only may be disassembled and then reassembled with a longer or shorter leg member.
The wireway suspension system of the present invention provides a horizontal cross-beam with substantial static load-bearing capability and an attachment of the crossbeam to the support leg which resists rotation relative to the support leg by providing an efficient transfer of vibrational and shock loads placed on the cross-beam to the support leg.